Eric Dickson, president and CEO of Worcester, Mass.-based UMass Memorial Health Care, committed to no layoffs or furloughs despite financial losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Worcester Business Journal.
"While this decision to retain our caregivers did increase pressure on our financial health, we as a senior leadership team — with the endorsement of our board of trustees — felt that was the right thing to do," Mr. Dickson wrote in a staff memo obtained by the Business Journal.
In the first six months of fiscal year 2020, UMass Memorial saw a loss of $28 million, and Mr. Dickson anticipates the second half of the year will bring an even bigger loss due to the lack of elective procedures in April and May, according to MassLive.
While the health system has received some federal financial aid, it did not receive enough to cover the losses incurred as a result of the pandemic. However, Mr. Dickson said that moves made to sell its pharmacy business last summer helped the system have extra cash on hand.
Read the full Business Journal article here.
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